A Present For You
by Soul of Shaman
Summary: Jeanne's parents are always fighting, and it drives the poor girl out of the house everyday. She meets a man in the park who says he might be able to help her. Maybe he can. Maybe he can't. oneshot, AU


**Author's Note: Enjoy. ******** Oh, and you can imagine Ren's wife as whoever you want. She's not really on OC, just a filler character,**

The girl's bare feet made soft tapping noises onto the concrete walkway as she wiped at her eyes, small pieces of paper in her hands. She must have looked strange, a girl in pastel pink pajamas, silver hair down to her waist, and ruby-red eyes walking down the street and crying. She ignored the stares and murmurs as she came near the shore of the lake. She enjoyed sitting there and feeding ducks or splashing her feet in the pond and scaring the fish that were in there. She always felt better after spending time there. Recently, she had tried to write a beautiful poem for her parents who were fighting, but they completely ignored her, and her father ripped the paper into fourths. She was carrying those pieces between her fingers now. The girl stopped near the shore, seeing something that wasn't normally there when she came to the lake.

A man. He had long, dark hair pulled into a low ponytail that fell around his hips, a black, loose suit, and a notebook on his lap. One hand held the paper in place as the other was going crazy down the paper, quickly writing things down as he kept looking up, and muttering something under his breath. His lips moved as quickly as his hand did, and he threw the paper over, turning the notebook over to start on the other side of the page. The girl stuck out her lower lip in determination and strutted over to him, staring at his back. The man didn't acknowledge her.

She came closer, peering over his shoulder. His characters were different from the ones she used to write, and her brow came together as she tried to figure it out. Suddenly, the man's hand froze, and he looked up, staring into space. The girl looked over his shoulder at his face. Sharp features, pale skin, and golden orbs shaped him. The man blinked and looked at her. She jumped and backed away, sitting down a few feet away, a tough expression on her face. The man blinked, and looked back down to his writing, his hand working in quick, graceful strokes again. She scooted closer. The man didn't look at her. The girl moved closer again. The man didn't look up. Once she did it again, he stopped writing and his iris shifted over to her, a small smirk pulling his lips up. She jumped and backed away again, gaining grass stains on her behind. The man looked back. She placed her ripped poem onto her lap, pulling her knees to her chest.

"_Ni hao_," he greeted, moving back to his writing. She craned her neck, but the characters were too illegible for her to read, and she gave up.

"…What're you doing?" she asked. The man turned his notebook over, finishing a sentence, before looking over at her.

"I'm writing," he said.

The girl eyed his notebook. "What are you writing?"

A light blush came to the man's cheeks and he averted his gaze.

"S-Something," he stammered.

"Oh." Something caught the girl's eye, and she leaned over. On the other side of the man was a baby. He had white hair in a spike, red eyes, and a pacifier in his mouth, playing with grass. The man looked over, lightly smacking the baby's hands, and it dropped the plant.

"Men, leave the grass alone," he scolded in a small voice, rubbing the baby's hand off. "You'll get dirty. And your mother will chew me out if you get dirty."

"Mother?" the girl asked. "You're married?" The man turned over, the notebook threatening to fall out of his lap, as he looked back at her. He smiled and held out his left hand. On his ring finger was a gold band with three tiny gems in it.

"Oh, pretty…" The girl came closer, taking the man's hand in hers as she inspected the ring. The man smiled, allowing her to fondle with the band. Her eyes were shining.

"What's a little girl like you doing here alone?" he asked. She looked up at him, her eyes averting back to the grass. Her lips came out in a small frown.

"My parents are fighting," she said, releasing the man's hand and plopping down beside him. "I don't like it when they fight. It makes me sad." Tears blobbed in the corners of her eyes and she wiped at them with the back of her wrist. The man felt sorry for her and placed a hand on her head.

"Instead of confiding in a stranger, why don't we introduce ourselves?" he suggested. The girl looked up at him and nodded, wiping away the rest of the gathering tears. "I'll start. My name is Tao Ren." The man placed a hand on his chest.

"J-Jeanne," she said, holding her hand out. Ren wrapped his hand around hers, shaking it formally.

"Now that we've met, I think you can talk properly to me." Ren smiled as the baby crawled over his father's lap, reaching out for Jeanne. She stared at the boy, holding her hand out. Men wrapped his hand around two of Jeanne's fingers, shaking it. He spat the pacifier out, a small black string around his neck keeping it from falling onto the ground. Jeanne beamed at the boy.

"So, what is that?" Ren asked, pointing to the papers on the ground. Jeanne shot up and rushed to pick the papers up before the wind blew them out into the lake and ruined them. Jeanne looked at them hopelessly.

"It was _supposed _to be a poem for my parents," she explained sadly, "but they've been fighting and they just won't listen to me. They're hurting each other and it makes me sad, and I don't know what to do if they split up…!" Jeanne hid her head in her arms, sobbing. Ren felt pity for her as her grip around the papers tightened, wrinkling them. He placed a hand on her head, messing her hair up. She looked up at him as a white handkerchief was handed to her. She took it and wiped at her eyes.

"How about I do something for you?" he offered, lightly tugging at the pieces of the poem until Jeanne released. "Just a small favor. Meet me back here tomorrow, and I'll have something for your parents."

"Reeen!" a voice called. The man turned around as Men pulled off of his father's lap and went racing up the hill towards a woman in a magnificent dress. She placed her hands on Men's sides and pulled him up, shifting him so that she could hold him up easier. "Come on! Horokeu keeps bugging me about you!"

"Alright, hold on!" Ren called back. He placed the papers in his notebook, closing it, and put the pencil in his jacket pocket. "Meet me here tomorrow about this time, alright? I'll be waiting."

"Okay." Jeanne waved to him as Ren ran up the hill, kissed his wife, and waved back to Jeanne as he turned and left. Jeanne watched him leave, then ran up the hill and hurried home. She slipped through the door, hearing voices shouting at each other.

"Meene, I'm telling you, that was _not_ there when I came home last night!" Marco yelled at his wife. The lean woman at the stove slapped her utensils down loudly, the spatula flipping onto the laminate floor.

"And what, are you saying I was cheating on you!?" she demanded.

"I'm not saying it, but I'm definitely implying it!" The man pushed his glasses up his nose for the umpteenth time that day. Jeanne peeked into the kitchen as her mother and father bickered again. They hadn't noticed she left at all. They never even heard the door slam when she left. Jeanne walked away from the kitchen and walked up the stairs, taking off her dirty pajamas and replacing them with new ones.

"Why bother changing into something else?" she mumbled, pulling the covers over her head. She listened to her parents argue for what seemed like the longest time. When the sun finally went down and everything was dark, Jeanne closed her eyes, dreaming of what a happy family must be like.

**(((Next day)))**

Jeanne jumped from her bed, pulling on a blue tank top, shorts, and green flip flops. She grabbed a brush and yanked it through her tangled hair, her heart soaring and her spirits high. Ren wanted her to meet him again, and she was excited. Her hair brushed, her teeth brushed, and her face cleaned, Jeanne hurried downstairs, wolfing down her breakfast.

"Jeanne!" Meene gasped as the girl killed the sunny-side up eggs on her plate. "Jeanne, calm down! Eat like a civilized person!"

"What do you know about being civilized?" Marco grumbled. Jeanne slowed down—or really, stopped at her father's remark. She stuck her tongue out at him, showing off an array of white and orange, and began eating again. Her mother stared at her daughter's behavior.

"Done!" Jeanne called, wiping her mouth and hopping off the chair. She grabbed a bag of bread. "Can I have this?" she asked.

"Why on earth would you want that?" Meene asked, smacking her husband's legs to get them off the table.

"To feed the birds at the park." Without waiting for an answer, Jeanne was already out the door and on her way to the park. A big smile was on her face and excitement shone in her eyes. Once she got to the lake, she slid down the hill and ran to the shore, stopping a few feet away from a large flock of birds feasting on bread crumbs possibly donated by an earlier party. Jeanne yanked open the bread bag, her heart racing, as she picked out a piece of bread (avoiding the icky end piece) and broke it into tiny crumbs, throwing it into the air. The birds ignored the stale bits beneath them and attacked the bits in the air, landing to gobble up what had fallen and catch what was about to hit the ground. She giggled happily and continued to feed the birds, bending down to pet one. The birds flew back a few inches the movement, which dampened her spirits. She began thinking about her parents again, about how her dad had freaked out about something that was there while he was away and immediately jumped to the conclusion that his wife was loving another man.

"Oh, you're here early," a voice said, snapping her out of her thoughts. Jeanne whipped around. Ren was walking towards her, his notebook under his arm. He smiled down at her and bent to her height. "Are your parents doing any better?" he asked.

"No," Jeanne answered, shaking her head. "Yesterday, my dad thought Momma was cheating on him." Her lip came out in a sad pout.

"I see…" Ren smiled sweetly at her, opening his notebook and revealing a manila envelope, and handed it to her. "Don't look inside. Simply hand it to them without a word and leave the room." Ren ruffled her hair as Jeanne stared in amazement at the envelope in her hands.

"Um…Ah, wait!" Jeanne cried as Ren stood and began leaving. "Where're you going?" she asked.

"I'm going back to China," he answered. "I've finished the manuscript for my book, and I need to give it to the publisher."

"Oh…" Jeanne seemed to be upset, but then she smiled up at him, her lips pulled up. "Good luck. I hope to read it someday."

Ren watched her for a moment before nodding and laughing lightly.

"I hope to see you soon, Miss Jeanne." Ren waved and turned back, walking up the hill and disappearing through the midmorning crowd. Jeanne inspected the envelope, tore up a few more pieces of bread, then packed up and left, getting herself a small ice cream and licking at it happily. She was very tempted to open the letter, but Ren's words played through her head constantly, and that was enough to dumb down the curiosity.

Once she finished munching on the cone, she was very close to her home. She licked at the sweet, sticky aftermath of a hot day off of her fingers and hopped up the steps. As soon as she opened the door, her happiness was smashed into itty bitty little pieces by her parents screaming. There was a slapping sound and crashing, and Jeanne gasped, running into the kitchen. Meene was on the floor, holding her cheek and fighting tears as Marco stood over her, panting, his hand still airborne. Jeanne's eyes widened, feeling her heart break. She threw the envelope onto the ground, catching the attention of her mother and her father.

"I hate you!" she shouted at them, tears stinging her eyes. "I hate you both! I hate it when you fight! You two are supposed to love each other! What ever happened to that!? Why can't you love each other anymore! I hate you two fighting! Love each other again! But don't hit each other! Don't hit each other! Don't hit…!" Jeanne hiccupped as she wiped her eyes. "I just… I _hate_ it when you two fight!!"

Jeanne began bawling and she turned on her heel and ran upstairs, slamming her door and locking it. She fell against her door, sliding to the floor and sobbing. Meene and Marco knocked and pounded on the door, but the young girl wouldn't open up. She wouldn't even yell at them to go away. She just sat, curled up, and cried.

"Oh, Jeanne, please come out!" Meene begged. "Please, Jeanne!"

"Jeanne, come out of there!" Marco said.

Meene looked at the envelope she had picked up. She opened it up and pulled out a small note.

_Your daughter wrote this for you both. Maybe if you two can stop bickering like children and take the time to read it, you might find something interesting about your relationship, or even how your fighting is affecting Jeanne. But hey, what do I know? I'm simply an author._

_陶人_

"Tao Ren?" Marco asked. Meene gasped.

"I have some of his books!" she breathed. "He's my favorite author! How did she…" Meene spotted something in the envelope and pulled it out. It was Jeane's poem, all four pieces, taped together and wrinkled. Meene and Marco read it, and both began to tear up.

**(((3 Years later)))**

Jeanne sat, writing furiously and murmuring words to herself, looking up to the scenery and writing down what she saw. She felt as if someone was staring at her and looked up. A boy a few years younger than her was staring at her, white hair pulled into a large spike on his head. His red eyes studied her.

"Dad!" he called, turning around. "I found her!"

"What?" a man called.

"Jeanne! I found her again!" Men looked back towards her, his face lit up. Sure enough, Ren appeared behind Men. He gave his son a scornful look before looking at the girl, freezing in place. Jeanne smiled brightly at him.

"Mr. Ren! It's good to see you again," she greeted warmly in a soft voice. Ren smiled back.

"I almost didn't recognize you," he admitted, sitting down. Men went off to feed the birds at the shore. "It's been a long time. You seem to have grown a lot."

"I have." Jeanne nodded. "A foot and a half, actually."

"Keeping up with your growth spurts?" Ren and Jeanne laughed, the air light. Men was chasing birds around.

"How old is he?" she asked, changing the subject from her growth to Men's.

"Five now," Ren answered, a small light in his eyes as he watched his beloved son run around. "He starts school in a few weeks. But he insisted on coming to Japan again. He wanted to see you."

"Aw," Jeane said, her smile growing. "He's so sweet."

"Yeah, he is." Ren looked over at her. "So, what're you writing?"

Jeanne blushed and looked away. "N-Nothing," she said, bringing memories back. Ren and she both giggled at the line and Jeanne shook her head. "I'm just kidding. It's more poetry."

"Ah, I see." Ren nodded.

"Oh yeah, and I read your new book," Jeanne said. Ren's face immediately flushed. "Erotic literature?"

"M-My wife says it's my forte," Ren admitted, looking away. Jeanne laughed.

"Well, she's right. It's very good." Jeanne began writing again, swinging her legs. "I turned thirteen a few days ago."

"Well, happy belated birthday then." Ren laughed. "How did that present go?"

Jeanne's smile suddenly shrunk. "Well, they stopped fighting."

"That's great!"

"But after a week, they got divorced."

The smile was suddenly slapped off of Ren's face. He placed a hand on Jeanne's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's okay; it wasn't your fault." Jeanne shook her head. "But after that, I got into writing myself. Other than poetry, I've started writing prose as well!"

Ren gave her a sympathetic smile.

"That's good. Do you have anything you're working on?" he asked. Jeanne blushed.

"Ah, well, just this one story…" She beamed.

"Intriguing. And what, pray tell, is the story about?" Ren cocked his head to one side, his chin propped on his folded hands.

"Well, it's about a young girl with parents who fight," Jeanne started. "But then she meets an interesting man, and weird things happen."

"Hm, sounds like it's well written. I might have to read it someday." Ren smirked. Jeanne simply smiled.

"You will have to read it. But, I have to get home. Mom's got a new boyfriend." Jeanne hopped off the bench, smoothing her Sunday dress out. "This is the fifth one this year."

"Ah, well, my best wishes your mother's relationship works out," Ren said.

"Tao Ren, every time we come to Japan, you and Men run off!" a woman scolded, appearing with her hands on her hips. Jeanne recognized her as the woman Men ran to last time they were here. The woman spotted her and her expression softened.

"I'm sorry," Ren said, standing and kissing her. "I had something I needed to take care of."

"Oh, is this the girl you told me about?" The woman smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were talking."

"No need to apologize," Jeanne said, hopping off the bench. "I need to get back anyways. Nice seeing you again Mr. Ren."

"You too," Ren said, bowing. Jeanne bowed back, closed her notebook, and waved as she ran off. His wife picked Men up and turned to her husband. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "So I wasn't able to make a difference after all…"

"Oh, it's okay, Ren," his wife said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She seems a lot happier than when I last saw her."

"Maybe her parents have gotten along enough to realize their fighting was bothering her." Ren kicked a small pebble in front of him. Men reached over and tugged his father's sleeve. His mother juggled to keep him from falling.

"Daddy, please don't fight with Momma," he begged. "Please don't fight." Ren's heart melted at the teary-eyed look on Men's face, and he pulled him into his arms, kissing his son's cheek.

"Your mom and me? Fight? There's not a force in this world that could make us do that," he said with a smile. His wife crossed her arms with a bemused smile.

"I can name two," she murmured. Ren elbowed her and she giggled. "Kidding. Men, your father's right. We'd never argue."

"Mn-hm." Men wiped at his eyes.

"Come on, we have to get back. My brother's going to kill us if we don't get there on time."

"Seriously? Man, every time we come here, your brother nitpicks at me as if being late is all _my_ fault."

"That's because it _is_."

"Mo-om!" Men called, and she held her hands up.

"I'm just saying, Men."

"Right." Men pouted as Ren ruffled the young boy's hair.


End file.
